Page 24 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
“I dinnae like it,” he confessed, eventually.
“What?”
“That kind of thing happenin’ on me lands.”
“Yer lands? I thought?—”
He waved a hand vaguely. “They chased her into me woods, that’s how I saw her in the first place, or I wouldnae have kenned it was happenin’.” And wasn’tthatan unpleasant thought.
“A priest, ye say?”
“Aye. Crazed. Mad. Never seen anythin’ like it. She refused his hand, and now he wants her dead. What kind of man treats a woman he claims to care for that way?”
“A jealous one,” Callum said. “Ye’re sure he’s nae threat?”
Noah shook his head. “It’s a tiny place. He wouldnae be able to bear arms. I just wanted to get her and her family out of there. She’ll be on a boat away from these shores in four weeks, and she’ll be safe until then. That is all I wanted.”
“Well then, ye did a good thing,” Callum said sincerely. “Ye should get some rest. Ye dinnae sleep what with ridin’ all night.”
Noah nodded. “Aye.”
“How’s the chest?” Callum asked.
Callum was the only one who knew of Noah’s chest pain other than his sister, Amelia. It had started many months before, after the death of his mother, and had not abated since.
“The same,” he muttered. “Nothin’ to worry yerself over.”
“Aye, well, get some sleep. Like ye say, she’s safe now.”
Callum departed, leaving Noah slumped before the fire, nursing his whisky.
He looked at the portrait above the mantelpiece of his baby sister, wishing that Amelia were here now. She would undoubtedly find his infatuation very amusing if he ever plucked up the courage to admit it to her.
It had taken everything in him not to put a hand around Keira’s waist for the entire ride. He had been itching to touch her, feel her heat, feel her skin again.
Her hair smelled of lavender and wildflowers. With her comely figure pressed so hard against him, he had barely been able to remember which direction to point the horse.
He had lied to Callum. He had felt the pain in his chest forming since he had dismounted. It was a sharp and suffocating feeling he had grown to hate over the intervening months.
Throwing the whisky back, he resolved to do the only thing that ever did any good. He would go outside and train.
* * *
It was late evening by the time Keira had unpacked all of her things. She had been amazed by the suite of rooms she had been led to.
Her new bedroom was three times the size of her old one at the cottage. The healer’s quarters boasted two basins with fresh running water, a fireplace, and a stove—more than she could ever have hoped for.
However, she was not entirely comfortable, feeling as though she were trespassing on someone else’s territory. The maid who showed her the place had mentioned the name ‘Deindre’ several times.
The previous healer had evidently left to care for the laird’s ailing grandmother in a place calledCarraig a’ Chuainand had left her rooms for the new occupant to fill.
Keira did not like the idea of another healer tending to Laird MacAllen. It was ridiculous, considering that she had no claim on him whatsoever, but she could not dispel the images of another healer examining him, her slim fingers running over his flesh…
She scowled, deciding to stretch her legs and take in her new surroundings. She was not accustomed to a castle of this size and was curious about what she might discover. She supposed she should have been exhausted after the day she had had but felt too alert to sleep.
She walked through the many halls and corridors until she saw the large doors out to the main courtyard and decided to take a stroll in the evening air.
She was relishing every breath of her freedom and was happy to see the stars glittering above her head as she stepped out into the gathering dark.
